WEBVTT NOTE Podcast: Acts 29 Vancouver Episode: Fortress Church - Barzillai or Caleb Publishing Date: 2025-07-20T06:04:44-07:00 Podcast URL: https://acts29.ca Episode URL: https://acts29.ca/fortress-church-barzillai-or-caleb/ 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:17.040 We have been talking about the Fortress Church, and today we will talk about what it looks 00:00:17.040 --> 00:00:26.600 like to continue being a Fortress Church even as you age. As you begin to age, what begins 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:35.040 to happen is you begin to take the easy way out or resign yourself. That is not how Fortress 00:00:35.040 --> 00:00:39.080 Churches are built, because Fortress Churches have both the old and the young. 00:00:39.080 --> 00:00:43.360 Next week we will talk about the young. This week we are talking about the old. If you 00:00:43.360 --> 00:00:54.360 turn to 2 Samuel 19.32, that sounds like someone's year of birth, 2 Samuel 19 verse 32, you will 00:00:55.360 --> 00:01:06.360 find this guy called Barzilai, and he was 80. Barzilai was 80. Okay? 2 Samuel 19.32. 00:01:07.360 --> 00:01:14.360 2 Samuel 19.32. And here is what it says, Barzilai was a very old man. I am reading from the 00:01:24.960 --> 00:01:31.040 message, 80 years old. He had supplied the king's needs all the while. He was in Mahanaim 00:01:31.040 --> 00:01:37.680 since he was very wealthy. Join me in Jerusalem, King David said to Barzilai. Let me take 00:01:37.680 --> 00:01:44.200 care of you. But Barzilai declined the offer. How long do you think I would live if I went 00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:50.200 with the king to Jerusalem? I am 80 years old and not much good anymore to anyone. I 00:01:50.200 --> 00:01:56.000 cannot taste food, cannot hear music, so why add to the burdens of my master the king? 00:01:56.000 --> 00:01:59.800 I will just go a little way across the Jordan with the king, but why would the king need 00:01:59.840 --> 00:02:05.000 to make a great thing of that? Let me go back and die in my hometown and be buried with 00:02:05.000 --> 00:02:12.000 my father and mother, but my servant Kimham here, let him go with you in my place, but 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:17.000 treat him well. The king said that's settled. Kimham goes with me. I will treat him well. 00:02:17.000 --> 00:02:21.920 If you think of anything else, I will do that for you too. That's Barzilai. 00:02:21.920 --> 00:02:28.920 Now go to Joshua 14 verse 12 onwards. Joshua 14 verse 12 onwards. It's about a guy called 00:02:29.520 --> 00:02:36.520 Caleb and he was 84. Joshua 14 verse 12, hey I would like a little more volume. Joshua 00:02:37.600 --> 00:02:44.600 14 verse 12. Joshua 14 verse 12. Here's what it says. Let's read from verse 10. 00:02:50.160 --> 00:02:57.160 Now look at me. God has kept me alive as he promised. It's now 45 years since God has 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:05.080 spoken this word to Moses. Years in which Israel wandered in the wilderness and here 00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:12.080 I am today 85 years old. I'm as strong as I was the day Moses sent me out. I'm as strong 00:03:12.840 --> 00:03:17.440 as ever in battle whether coming or going. So give me this hill country that God promised 00:03:17.440 --> 00:03:22.280 me. You yourself heard the report that the Anakim were there with their great fortress 00:03:22.280 --> 00:03:28.240 cities. If God goes with me, I'll drive them out just as God has said. Joshua blessed him. 00:03:28.240 --> 00:03:33.560 He gave Hebron to Caleb, son of Daphne, as an inheritance. So you got an 80-year-old 00:03:33.560 --> 00:03:39.920 who didn't want to go when King David invited him and then you got an 85-year-old who demands 00:03:39.920 --> 00:03:46.480 that things be released to him. A fortress church cannot be built by people who begin 00:03:46.480 --> 00:03:52.480 to give away what is theirs as they age. When it comes to age, I want to define what I mean 00:03:52.480 --> 00:03:59.480 by age here because you can look at age as age. I'm not just talking about years. I'm 00:04:05.880 --> 00:04:12.880 talking about how sometimes indifference can age you. Sentimentality can age you. Circumstances 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:29.480 can age you. Entitlement can age you. Self-pity can age you. The inability to recover from 00:04:38.200 --> 00:04:45.200 loss can age you. Work can age you. You can age yourself. You can age yourself. You can 00:04:52.480 --> 00:04:59.480 age yourself. Failure can age you. And surprisingly, success can age you. All these things can 00:05:05.520 --> 00:05:12.520 age you. You can meet 40-year-olds who live old. So we're not talking about years, eh? 00:05:12.520 --> 00:05:19.520 In the midst of all this, if I don't have Christ and his purpose or cause, it's only 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:34.920 a matter of time before I can be young and physically able, but I'm not able... but I 00:05:34.920 --> 00:05:41.920 begin to age. I met 45-year-olds who are older than me. Indifference can age you. A callous 00:05:51.640 --> 00:05:57.200 indifference attitude can age you where nothing really engages you. You're not passionate 00:05:57.200 --> 00:06:02.440 about... Another word for indifference is lukewarmness. Lukewarmness definitely ages 00:06:02.440 --> 00:06:05.920 you where you don't want to commit too much, you don't want to commit too less. You're 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:12.920 somewhere in the middle. That's a recipe for aging. When one loses passion, one loses 00:06:13.280 --> 00:06:20.280 years. Any questions on this? Sentimentality can, where you're so sentimental about something, 00:06:23.480 --> 00:06:30.480 some place, some pursuit, someone, that you get stuck in it and are unable to move on. 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:34.720 Oh, for the good old days. I want to tell you something. The good old days were never 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:40.200 good. There was no plumbing, there was no TV, there was no microwave. Everything had 00:06:40.200 --> 00:06:47.200 to be done the wrong way. Any questions on this? So age, we're not talking about just 00:06:47.200 --> 00:06:54.200 years, eh? I know 70-year-olds who are much sharper than 40-year-olds and 40-year-olds 00:07:01.800 --> 00:07:08.800 who are really old. Entitlement is when you think that because you have spent some time 00:07:08.800 --> 00:07:15.800 doing something that you now are owed something. And when you think you're entitled and you're 00:07:20.200 --> 00:07:27.200 owed something, you don't do much. Oh, I have put in a lot of work into this. Yeah, I put 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:38.000 in some more work. There's so much left to do. I'm not going to say that I'm going to 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:45.800 spend a lot of time on this. Any questions? Work can aid you where you're so focused and 00:07:50.420 --> 00:07:54.120 obsessed with work that you don't have time for anything else. Work is one of the things 00:07:54.120 --> 00:08:01.120 that aides people the fastest. We love work. There are people who love work. They enjoy 00:08:01.860 --> 00:08:06.720 work, retrieving the pressure of work. What they don't realize is how they age because 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:11.560 everything else becomes less important and the more important things, when they become 00:08:11.560 --> 00:08:18.560 less important, it catches up, man. The pressure of work can kill you. People that love work 00:08:23.080 --> 00:08:29.760 must learn how to rest before they work. One of the things Cam reminded us of yesterday 00:08:29.960 --> 00:08:36.960 was that the first day that man was born, he entered into rest. If one does not learn 00:08:37.040 --> 00:08:43.440 rest, work can destroy you. And especially if you are someone who just loves going to 00:08:43.440 --> 00:08:50.440 work, then you have to be twice as careful. As you know, there are people who are not 00:08:59.760 --> 00:09:06.760 aware of the pressure of work. As you age, here are some things that happen to you. 00:09:08.720 --> 00:09:15.720 As you age, as in, man, may you be someone who doesn't think you're really old and 00:09:15.720 --> 00:09:20.240 every time they tell you you're old, you get a shock. You realize, oh my God, people see 00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:26.440 me as old, but you don't see yourself as old. This odd incident happened some weeks ago, 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:32.800 months ago, where this lady came into the elevator and started chatting me and she was 00:09:32.800 --> 00:09:36.800 I think newly immigrated from India and she started chatting me and she must have been 00:09:36.800 --> 00:09:42.200 30 something and then she asked me for a number and I thought, boy, nine flows and you're 00:09:42.200 --> 00:09:46.880 asking me for my number. And I was a little concerned, but I was in a good mood so I gave 00:09:46.880 --> 00:09:53.880 her my number. And then she says, that's great. Now my dad just arrived and perhaps he can 00:09:53.880 --> 00:10:00.880 call you and you and him can go for walks. I was like letting air out of a balloon. Here 00:10:01.720 --> 00:10:04.920 I was thinking, aren't you being a little too forward asking me for my number? And I 00:10:04.920 --> 00:10:10.600 had this thing about me that maybe I really look young, but she took my number so that 00:10:10.600 --> 00:10:17.600 her dad and I can walk together in the morning. Thank God she got off because on a floor that 00:10:18.120 --> 00:10:25.120 was immediate. Otherwise I'd have given her a piece of my mind about walking. 00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:33.600 So one of the things that happens with age is you begin to focus on your hobby horse 00:10:34.400 --> 00:10:39.200 as in the thing that you were good at and you are good at and you won't move into anything 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:46.200 else. There's a rigidity that begins to enter your life. There's tolerance of, you know, 00:10:48.600 --> 00:10:55.600 where you are morally as in you're 60, you're 67, you're 58 or whatever and you do well, 00:10:58.040 --> 00:11:03.160 but you don't want to get better. That's one of the terrible signs of age. You don't want 00:11:03.160 --> 00:11:10.160 to get better. You're happy. You're morally happy. When there is a tolerance of where 00:11:11.160 --> 00:11:18.160 you are morally, be very, very suspicious because something is seriously wrong. Your 00:11:24.280 --> 00:11:31.280 disappointments with God keep you at bay. These are things that happen with age. And 00:11:31.280 --> 00:11:38.280 so if you are like this at 35, be careful. And this applies to leaders here. This applies 00:11:43.800 --> 00:11:50.800 to anyone who is above 20 or 30, anyone who is above 30. You get stagnant. You lose zeal. 00:11:50.800 --> 00:11:57.800 You resign to circumstances. If you're above 30 and this is how you're beginning to feel 00:12:00.440 --> 00:12:07.440 about life in any area or you like comfort to the point where you won't leave it, you 00:12:11.840 --> 00:12:18.840 are not going to be happy. You're going to be happy. You're going to be happy. You're 00:12:20.800 --> 00:12:27.800 going to be happy. You become complacent in your zeal. If you're above 30 and if this 00:12:28.280 --> 00:12:33.200 is happening to you, it's a recipe that will take you to a place where you age faster. 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:39.280 I'm not saying you'll die faster. I'm just saying you'll age faster. The rest of us will 00:12:39.280 --> 00:12:46.280 have to suffer you. That was, yeah. Any questions? 00:12:51.360 --> 00:12:58.360 Okay. So how do we prevent this from happening? How do you maintain your fruitfulness in a 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:09.240 church that is getting younger? How do you maintain your fruitfulness in a church? Don't 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:16.240 worry. You young guys, you're enjoying this. Next week will be your turn. How do you maintain 00:13:22.160 --> 00:13:26.600 your fruitfulness in a church? This is for people that are 30 and above like Derek and 00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:33.600 the rest of them. How do you maintain your fruitfulness in a church that is getting younger? 00:13:40.240 --> 00:13:45.840 How do you maintain your fruitfulness in a church that is getting younger? One of the 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:52.840 ways it's through the sacrifice of time, treasure, talent, privilege, tastes, and the ability 00:14:09.920 --> 00:14:16.920 to have strength. You sacrifice all this for the sake of the maturity of the young. 00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:36.600 The way to stay fruitful is to sacrifice. Remember something. The seed for fruitfulness 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:44.200 is sacrifice. Jesus put it this way. Unless a seed falls and dies, it does not bear fruit. 00:14:46.300 --> 00:14:51.860 If I want my life to be fruitful, it is impossible for my life to be fruitful if I do not sow 00:14:51.860 --> 00:14:58.860 the seed of sacrifice. And so one of the ways that the people in this church who are above 00:14:58.860 --> 00:15:05.860 30 can maintain fruitfulness as this church will get younger. And I assure you the church 00:15:06.940 --> 00:15:11.260 will get younger. This church is going the wrong way. It's not getting older, it's getting 00:15:11.260 --> 00:15:18.260 younger. The only way to be fruitful in this church is through the sacrifice of your time, 00:15:21.180 --> 00:15:28.180 your treasure, your talent, your privilege, your tastes as in your preferences, your strength 00:15:28.420 --> 00:15:34.980 for the sake of the maturity of the young. Any questions on that? If you don't do that, 00:15:34.980 --> 00:15:41.980 it's only a matter of time before you are called the aged ones. Any questions? 00:15:41.980 --> 00:15:49.580 So, as you age, the company you marinate in, the company you marinate in, the company you 00:16:11.980 --> 00:16:18.980 marinate in, affects your thinking and your speaking. And the works you do. Proverbs 00:16:29.380 --> 00:16:36.380 18 verse 21 talks about it. I was at a Christmas gathering this December. Surprisingly, I was 00:16:37.180 --> 00:16:43.180 the youngest one there. Everybody else was old. We spent two hours. I mean, I left early. 00:16:43.180 --> 00:16:50.020 I decided I had to get out of here. We spent two hours with a group of 13 men only talking 00:16:50.020 --> 00:16:56.940 about the diseases that will happen, the mortgages that will go down, the economy that will crash. 00:16:56.940 --> 00:17:02.340 This is what they spent two hours talking. Every time I try to interrupt with a positive 00:17:02.340 --> 00:17:07.500 word, it will be, no, no, no, look at that person, look at this person. Two hours. And 00:17:07.500 --> 00:17:13.220 I thought to myself, my God, if this is how they live, what hope do they have? And here's 00:17:13.220 --> 00:17:20.220 the crazy thing. All of them are believers. Proverbs 18 verse 21 says that out of your 00:17:23.820 --> 00:17:30.820 mouth, the words that come will either give birth to life or give birth to death. It was 00:17:31.580 --> 00:17:37.980 one of the most deadly Christmas parties I've ever had. On the night that he was born, they 00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:44.980 began to talk about how to die. This is important. The company you keep. As you get older, this 00:17:49.780 --> 00:17:54.340 doesn't mean you hang out with the young guys. It's usually kiboshes their party. So you 00:17:54.340 --> 00:17:58.140 don't want to do that. I hardly turn up for dinner with you guys because I know if I turn 00:17:58.140 --> 00:18:03.900 up, you guys will behave well. So I just turn up once every two months. So this is not hang 00:18:03.900 --> 00:18:07.060 out with the young and you will feel young. You saw what happened in the elevator. It 00:18:07.060 --> 00:18:14.060 does not work. But what you need to do is you need to marinate in company that begins 00:18:14.620 --> 00:18:21.620 to speak, think larger, more faith, more things to do, not resign, not retire, not downwards. 00:18:21.620 --> 00:18:28.620 And if you don't find the time for it, all you will have is your workmates and your spouse. 00:18:30.740 --> 00:18:34.500 And nothing wrong with your spouse. But you need more company than that sometimes to lift 00:18:34.500 --> 00:18:41.500 you up. In fact, you both should go. Any questions on that? Feel free to push back. If you think 00:18:41.500 --> 00:18:48.500 this is pointless, this is not pointless, but feel free to push back. It is so important 00:18:54.860 --> 00:19:00.980 that I spend time with people that will stir me up. That will even sharpen me. The older 00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:07.780 you get, the harder it is not to be offended. The older you get, the harder it is not to 00:19:07.780 --> 00:19:13.340 be offended. Because everything has to happen the way you like it and your values are the 00:19:13.340 --> 00:19:17.420 best values in the world. And the moment you begin to think like that, there are about 00:19:17.420 --> 00:19:22.460 hundred people who want to offend you. We will talk about that later. But you have to 00:19:22.460 --> 00:19:29.460 marinate with the right company. That is what keeps you alive. Any questions? Yeah. 00:19:37.780 --> 00:19:44.780 Sacrificing time, treasure, talent and strength is so that in doing that you can pour it into 00:19:47.220 --> 00:19:52.740 someone younger. But at the same time, you have to hang out with people that will keep 00:19:52.740 --> 00:19:59.740 sharpening you. Iron sharpens iron. But iron, if it wants to be sharpened, has to connect 00:20:00.300 --> 00:20:07.300 with other pieces of iron. You can't connect with plastic and get sharpened. But if you 00:20:07.780 --> 00:20:14.780 want to be sharpened, you have to be able to do that. And so the question is, do we 00:20:14.780 --> 00:20:21.780 still do that as we get older? The more we protect ourselves, the more isolated we are, 00:20:21.820 --> 00:20:28.820 the sooner we will age. Listen to me. The more we protect ourselves and the more isolated 00:20:28.820 --> 00:20:33.820 you are, the sooner you will age. And I'm not talking about years of age. I'm talking 00:20:33.820 --> 00:20:40.820 about years of age. As you get older, your life should be more public, not more private. 00:20:49.740 --> 00:20:56.740 May the experience in your life be put on open display. This is how you live. Next point. 00:20:56.740 --> 00:21:03.740 As you age, as you age, purpose and past zest for life are connected. Find one, you will 00:21:03.740 --> 00:21:10.740 find the other. As you age, purpose and zest for life are connected. Find one, you will 00:21:10.740 --> 00:21:17.740 find the other. As you age, purpose and past zest for life are connected. Find one, you 00:21:30.180 --> 00:21:37.180 will find the other. I plead with you, some of us need to pull back, withdraw from our 00:21:37.180 --> 00:21:44.180 work. Because the only time you're going to withdraw at the rate you're going is either 00:21:44.180 --> 00:21:51.180 when you retire or when you die at work. One or the other is going to happen. Withdraw. 00:21:53.180 --> 00:22:00.180 And if you withdraw, you will find your zest for life, it's always connected. Purpose for 00:22:00.180 --> 00:22:07.180 life is always connected to zest. As you're getting older, please, please consider this. 00:22:12.380 --> 00:22:19.380 Any questions? Any thoughts? Am I really speaking to you? Am I throwing darts into your heart? 00:22:19.700 --> 00:22:26.700 I hope I am. And I hope it's hurting. One of the things about these messages is they 00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:34.500 are very intentional and they're meant to hurt for the better. If you don't withdraw 00:22:40.580 --> 00:22:47.580 from the pace of work that you presently have, you will not find life. Okay? Third one. As 00:22:47.580 --> 00:22:54.580 you age, as you age, be, become more fluid, be more, be more, be more, be more, be more 00:23:18.140 --> 00:23:25.140 so God can still be unpredictable through you. As you age, become more fluid so God 00:23:34.980 --> 00:23:40.140 can still be unpredictable through you. You can be secure in God, but you can never predict 00:23:40.140 --> 00:23:45.340 what he's going to do. You can only be secure in God, but you cannot predict what he's going 00:23:45.340 --> 00:23:50.580 to do. As you get older, and I'm talking about anyone over the age of 30, you're already 00:23:50.580 --> 00:23:55.300 beginning to have set ways of functioning. And if I don't change those set ways of functioning, 00:23:55.300 --> 00:23:59.780 it's only a matter of time before the God who is secure but does not predict what's 00:23:59.780 --> 00:24:04.100 going to happen will cease to use me because Jacob, you've gotten to a point where you're 00:24:04.100 --> 00:24:08.460 inflexible now. Or you've settled into patterns that you think are brilliant and they were 00:24:08.460 --> 00:24:13.460 brilliant but they're not brilliant anymore. 00:24:13.460 --> 00:24:20.460 As you age, how do you fight this? How do you become like this if you're not like this? 00:24:20.900 --> 00:24:25.780 Well, the first point is always I have to acknowledge and recognize that I've got a 00:24:25.780 --> 00:24:30.060 problem. If I do not acknowledge and recognize I've got a problem, if my first response is 00:24:30.060 --> 00:24:34.380 to justify and defend it, sure, go ahead, justify and defend it. And then after a while, 00:24:34.380 --> 00:24:39.300 say, I really have a problem. I'm just trying to justify and defend it. Once you get to 00:24:39.300 --> 00:24:43.700 a place where now you've acknowledged that there's a problem, now every time it comes 00:24:43.700 --> 00:24:50.700 up, you have to begin to resist it. Every time it comes up, you have to resist it. 00:24:53.640 --> 00:24:57.940 A thing that has taken 40 years to build cannot be destroyed in two days or by the anointing 00:24:57.940 --> 00:25:03.820 of the Holy Spirit because it's a habit that's created by the mind. The Holy Spirit can give 00:25:03.820 --> 00:25:09.180 you a miracle today but tomorrow you can go back to your mindset. Every day I have 00:25:09.180 --> 00:25:12.980 to now begin to take a hammer to it and then one day I'll find that there is no brick 00:25:12.980 --> 00:25:19.980 left. There are some things that are not miracles. They are change of habit because of a change 00:25:21.420 --> 00:25:28.420 of thinking. Why is it that, I mean, you may think this is funny but it's not, though 00:25:29.620 --> 00:25:33.580 it is funny. Why is it that you can sit for a three hour service and listen to a one and 00:25:33.580 --> 00:25:37.420 a half hour teaching? I'll make it shorter today, but one and a half hour teaching. You've 00:25:37.420 --> 00:25:44.020 got to get accustomed to it. Try this in another church. It won't work. Yesterday Campbell 00:25:44.020 --> 00:25:47.180 was asking me, so what time are you starting and what time are you finishing? I said 10 00:25:47.180 --> 00:25:54.180 a.m. and finish at 8 p.m. He said, you have strange people. When you get accustomed to 00:25:56.220 --> 00:26:02.100 it, one has to create a habit. This one, ha, this is one of my favorite things to do as 00:26:02.100 --> 00:26:07.100 I get older. Can you always be someone who will respond to the unpredictable? Or are 00:26:07.100 --> 00:26:11.660 you also going to end up as someone who now becomes patterned and you find it very hard 00:26:11.660 --> 00:26:18.660 to get up and leave, get up and go? Practice this now if you're 20. Practice this definitely 00:26:19.980 --> 00:26:26.980 if you're 31. Will all the under 30s stand up? 00:26:33.100 --> 00:26:40.100 Wow, we still have a whole lot of them. Thank you. Please sit down. Now you know this message 00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:52.220 is for the church. As you age, teachability becomes a problem. Teachability becomes a 00:27:02.620 --> 00:27:09.620 problem. So, but teachability is what? Will give you breakthroughs. You want breakthroughs 00:27:13.140 --> 00:27:20.140 as you get older? You have to be teachable. Teachability becomes a problem as you age. 00:27:20.300 --> 00:27:27.300 And teachability is always connected to humility. One is not teachable when one is not humble. 00:27:27.300 --> 00:27:32.820 Teachability will give you breakthroughs in life. I know I have said this in the past, 00:27:32.820 --> 00:27:38.460 but there are so many that may not have heard this. Five years, five, no, maybe five or 00:27:38.460 --> 00:27:43.500 six years, seven years ago, six years ago, I was sitting in a hotel talking to this guy 00:27:43.500 --> 00:27:48.620 who was 10 years younger to me because I was at a conference where he was teaching and 00:27:48.620 --> 00:27:52.820 I, after I finished teaching, he came and asked me questions. When he asked me questions, 00:27:52.820 --> 00:27:58.540 I was quite offended. You asked me to preach and you are now trying to poke holes in what 00:27:58.540 --> 00:28:03.580 I taught and I didn't like it. And so I went back to the hotel that I was staying at and 00:28:03.580 --> 00:28:07.940 I remember telling the Lord, Father, this guy doesn't seem to be very teachable. I'll 00:28:07.940 --> 00:28:11.700 just finish this conference and won't come back again. I felt the Lord saying, it's not 00:28:11.700 --> 00:28:16.220 he who is not teachable, it's you who is not teachable. And so then I looked at what he 00:28:16.220 --> 00:28:22.380 had spoken and I realized what he was telling me was the truth. And so I had to then do 00:28:22.380 --> 00:28:29.420 this very difficult thing of calling him on the phone and saying to him that what you 00:28:29.420 --> 00:28:36.420 said today, this morning, I don't know much about it. Is there any chance that I can meet 00:28:36.420 --> 00:28:42.100 you this evening and could you show me what you were talking about? It was one of the 00:28:42.100 --> 00:28:49.020 hardest things for me in my life to sit and take lessons from someone 10 years younger 00:28:49.260 --> 00:28:54.300 who had invited you to preach at his conference. And he came and he was as humble as he could 00:28:54.300 --> 00:29:00.940 be, took out sheets of paper and he started teaching me. It was Chad, many years ago. 00:29:00.940 --> 00:29:05.820 And this church has benefited and my life did go to another level because of what I 00:29:05.820 --> 00:29:12.820 learned from him. Teachability is critical to breakthrough and teachability involves 00:29:12.820 --> 00:29:19.820 humility. It's not that what you know is wrong, it's that what you know is absolutely 00:29:23.620 --> 00:29:29.740 incomplete and sometimes irrelevant to your new situation. This church will not be where 00:29:29.740 --> 00:29:36.580 it is, was it not for that moment. I could have squandered our inheritance because of 00:29:36.620 --> 00:29:43.620 my pride. That's how critical it is sometimes guys. If you notice, I'm not talking about 00:29:44.180 --> 00:29:48.420 how humble I was, it was very, very difficult. I'm talking about how proud I was and how 00:29:48.420 --> 00:29:55.420 I could have squandered our inheritance because of my pride. As you age, as you age, you 00:30:07.260 --> 00:30:14.260 begin to empty yourself, begin to empty yourself materially and spiritually again and again. 00:30:28.540 --> 00:30:35.540 If you want a scripture for the last one, it's Proverbs 9.9, Proverbs 9.9. 00:30:37.500 --> 00:30:44.500 Proverbs 9.9. You can read it later but it talks about how being teachable really helps 00:30:50.900 --> 00:30:56.340 you. Give instruction to a wise man and he will still be wiser. Teach a righteous man 00:30:56.340 --> 00:31:01.260 and he'll increase in learning. But it's pointless talking to a scoffer because he'll 00:31:01.260 --> 00:31:08.060 hate you while a wise man will love you when you begin to teach him more. The next one 00:31:08.060 --> 00:31:12.620 is begin to empty yourself materially and spiritually. As we get older because we are 00:31:12.620 --> 00:31:17.060 scared that we are retiring, as we get older because we are scared that we may not earn 00:31:17.060 --> 00:31:24.060 an income, as we get older materially and spiritually we stop emptying ourselves. We 00:31:24.940 --> 00:31:30.220 did it when we were younger but as we get older we stop doing it because we are scared 00:31:30.540 --> 00:31:37.540 now who will help us? Because like Malachi 4.8 says, what does Malachi 4.8 says? That 00:31:39.740 --> 00:31:46.740 at 65 I shall abandon thee. We are scared of that. Don't turn to Malachi 4.8. There 00:31:47.740 --> 00:31:54.740 is no Malachi 4.8. But the point is we get scared of emptying ourselves. Learn how to 00:31:55.220 --> 00:32:01.900 do it again and again. So Jacob, shouldn't we be responsible? We should be good stewards. 00:32:01.900 --> 00:32:05.980 We should leave an inheritance for our children. Absolutely. After you give them your inheritance, 00:32:05.980 --> 00:32:10.060 learn how to empty yourself again and again. But Jacob, we need to take care of ourselves 00:32:10.060 --> 00:32:13.780 and make sure that we have enough money for our retirement. Totally true. But after you 00:32:13.780 --> 00:32:19.580 do that, empty yourself again and again. But Jacob, we have needs. We have a mortgage to 00:32:19.580 --> 00:32:24.000 pay off. Well then, after you've paid off your mortgage, empty yourself again and again 00:32:24.320 --> 00:32:31.320 and again. It's not either or. It's both. And as you get older, it gets harder because 00:32:31.600 --> 00:32:38.600 you are scared. Any pushback on that? What we do is as we get older, we invest more and 00:32:39.560 --> 00:32:46.400 more. Nothing wrong with that. But if you are investing so that you can empty yourself 00:32:46.400 --> 00:32:53.400 again and again, that's more Christ-like. These are not, you know, for some reason, 00:32:54.400 --> 00:33:01.400 there's a rumor going around that I said that old people are only meant for praying and 00:33:04.040 --> 00:33:11.040 giving. Trust me, I've never said that. And secondly, this is what older people need to 00:33:12.880 --> 00:33:19.880 be doing. Emptying myself spiritually is to help people to understand that they are not 00:33:24.200 --> 00:33:29.960 able to do it. Here's the thing, guys. How can you empty yourself unless you're filled? 00:33:29.960 --> 00:33:34.320 So the moment you say empty yourself spiritually, what you're saying is fill yourself continuously 00:33:34.320 --> 00:33:40.040 spiritually so that you can go to empty and fill again. We do that with our cars, right, 00:33:40.040 --> 00:33:47.040 till these EVs came along. It was so much fun filling a gas tank. And then it depletes 00:33:47.040 --> 00:33:54.040 and you take it to the limit, yeah? Take it to the limit and you keep driving. You know 00:33:56.400 --> 00:34:01.800 there's only 50 left, 40 left. You can't do that with EVs. As soon as it hits 15%, Don 00:34:01.800 --> 00:34:06.680 is off to a charging station. Doesn't matter how many people are in the car. Doesn't matter 00:34:06.680 --> 00:34:13.680 whether his wife is giving birth or not. My EV needs to be charged. Not so with gas cars, 00:34:13.680 --> 00:34:21.280 guys. As you age, examine unfinished promises. Ancient paths given you that you haven't walked. 00:34:43.680 --> 00:34:50.680 And demand them from God and man. That's what Joshua did in Joshua 14.10. Unfinished promises. 00:34:50.680 --> 00:34:57.680 You said that you would give me this land. It hasn't come to pass. 45 years I've waited. 00:35:01.000 --> 00:35:08.000 45 years I've waited. I now demand it. I demand it from God and I demand it from you, 00:35:09.440 --> 00:35:16.440 more Joshua. I demand it from God and I demand it from you, more Joshua. I demand it from 00:35:16.440 --> 00:35:23.440 God and I demand it from you, more Joshua. Caleb said this. As you get older, begin 00:35:24.960 --> 00:35:29.480 to look at the promises that were given you that you absolutely know are from God and 00:35:29.480 --> 00:35:35.200 that are dying. The thing with promises is it's a song. Dead things come alive. Dead 00:35:35.200 --> 00:35:40.280 things come alive in the name of Jesus. So what if the promise looks dead? You think 00:35:40.280 --> 00:35:47.280 it can't be revived? We're talking about a God who only understands resurrection. Death 00:35:47.640 --> 00:35:54.640 was not something he invented. It was a consequence of sin. He only understands life and resurrection. 00:35:56.920 --> 00:36:03.920 Examine unfinished promises. You don't know how fun it is to get older, guys. Okay, that 00:36:03.920 --> 00:36:10.920 didn't get any response. As you age, don't back off from challenges or opposition. Do 00:36:10.920 --> 00:36:17.920 not choose the broad way. Take the path less walked. Take the path less walked. Take the 00:36:40.920 --> 00:36:46.240 path less walked. As you get older, do this because then Jeremiah 12 verse 5 will go 00:36:46.240 --> 00:36:53.240 into effect where you begin to run with horses and outrun the young and mount up with wings 00:36:53.240 --> 00:37:00.240 like eagles. Isaiah 40. Wherever you see, I mean, here's the thing. When you look at 00:37:23.240 --> 00:37:30.240 God, God will in the life of any man or woman who is 30 plus, God will put challenges and 00:37:30.240 --> 00:37:37.240 oppositions in your path so that you can increase. He will. These are not even tests from the 00:37:39.680 --> 00:37:46.680 devil. This is more like God tested Abraham so that he can deliver to him another promise, 00:37:47.320 --> 00:37:50.960 another promise, another promise. How do you think new promises are going to come your 00:37:50.960 --> 00:37:55.240 way because of a prophetic word? No. New promises are going to come your way because 00:37:55.240 --> 00:38:02.240 you finished the last old one. Many of us will die with a sack full of prophetic promises. 00:38:04.640 --> 00:38:11.120 But what if God really gives new promises when you finish the one that he gave you last 00:38:11.120 --> 00:38:15.880 time? That's how he took Abraham. He would send him from, hey, leave your country, he 00:38:15.880 --> 00:38:22.880 goes. Leave your clan, he goes. Leave your family, he does that. Offer your son, he does 00:38:23.120 --> 00:38:30.120 that. Challenges. And as these challenges come, he rises to it. And as he rises to it, 00:38:31.160 --> 00:38:38.160 new promises are delivered. Genesis 12 has a promise. Genesis 15.1 has a promise. 00:38:45.880 --> 00:38:52.880 Yeah. Let me define unfinished promise because one of the things that happens to charismatics 00:38:53.000 --> 00:39:00.000 like us is our unfinished promises are all personal. What about unfinished promises that 00:39:02.280 --> 00:39:09.280 are meant to affect the world? All our unfinished promises, when we talk about unfinished promises, 00:39:10.080 --> 00:39:17.080 the first thing that clicks in your mind and my mind is, God said this would happen to 00:39:17.080 --> 00:39:22.280 me and it hasn't happened yet. Yes, it hasn't happened yet. Deal with it. It is good to 00:39:22.280 --> 00:39:27.440 talk to him about it. But we are not talking about unfinished promises that are personal. 00:39:27.440 --> 00:39:32.320 We are talking about unfinished promises given to us for the sake of somebody else, for the 00:39:32.320 --> 00:39:39.160 earth. That's what we are looking at. That's what we desire. When you begin to make a promise, 00:39:39.160 --> 00:39:46.160 when you begin to desire that, all other things shall be. So that's the first thing 00:39:48.520 --> 00:39:54.520 I wanted to do in answer to Anna's question. Unfinished promises look beyond the personal 00:39:54.520 --> 00:39:58.800 promises that have been given to us. Now that we look beyond it, how do we deal with it? 00:39:58.800 --> 00:40:05.800 Go argue with God. Contend with him. Climb up the watch tower. Stand there and look for 00:40:06.320 --> 00:40:12.400 an answer. Bring him your complaint. Ask him what needs to be changed. Tell him you know 00:40:12.400 --> 00:40:16.520 he is fair and perfect, but you're not feeling that he is fair and perfect, even though he 00:40:16.520 --> 00:40:23.520 is fair and perfect. How would you deal with a promise that your 00:40:23.960 --> 00:40:28.760 dad, your physical biological dad would give? How would you deal with it? You would go and 00:40:28.760 --> 00:40:34.560 discuss it with him. You would talk to him about it. You would argue with him, but you 00:40:34.560 --> 00:40:41.560 would do it honorably. How is this God any different? When you do that, your dad doesn't 00:40:42.840 --> 00:40:46.480 say, you know, you're right, bring me that check. Let me sign it, it's blank. Put whatever 00:40:46.480 --> 00:40:53.480 you want. No. He gives it to you in a way that's best for you. This dad is much better. 00:40:58.400 --> 00:41:04.400 Here's the question then. Do we have unfinished promises that invite us into some other person? 00:41:04.400 --> 00:41:08.960 Person's benefit or the world's benefit? And if you don't, go asking for them, saying, 00:41:08.960 --> 00:41:13.880 Jesus, don't want anything for myself. Want something for others. Give me something impossible 00:41:13.880 --> 00:41:20.880 for others. Man, those kind of Christians are worth their weight in burgers. Or you 00:41:23.560 --> 00:41:30.560 thought I'd say gold? 00:41:34.400 --> 00:41:41.400 Next one. As you age, receive God's discipline. As you age, receive God's discipline. As you 00:41:50.240 --> 00:41:57.240 age, not receive God's discipline. So your weakness is your weakness. Your weakness is 00:42:04.680 --> 00:42:11.680 strengthened. Hebrews 12, verse 12 onwards talks about it. Hebrews 12, verse 12 onwards 00:42:16.880 --> 00:42:21.880 talks about it. As you age, receive God's discipline. One of the things that happens 00:42:21.880 --> 00:42:28.280 as we grow older is there are certain areas of our lives which are weak. It almost gets, 00:42:28.280 --> 00:42:35.280 my mom used to do this. She'd say, no, I'm too old now to correct that. Why? Strengthen 00:42:41.880 --> 00:42:46.120 the arm that is weak. Strengthen the legs that are weak. In the area that you're weak, 00:42:46.120 --> 00:42:49.080 that's where God would love to discipline you. And the moment I say discipline, you're 00:42:49.080 --> 00:42:55.160 thinking like some kind of punishment. No. I'm talking about instruction and pruning 00:42:55.160 --> 00:43:02.160 that will help me strengthen. While I'm speaking to the 30 pluses, the ones that are below 00:43:07.560 --> 00:43:14.560 them, please understand that this is for you also. As I age, this is a very important one. 00:43:15.160 --> 00:43:22.160 As I age, forgive offense at lightning speed. As I age, forgive offense at lightning speed. 00:43:25.160 --> 00:43:32.160 As I age, forgive offense at lightning speed. As in, erase the memory of it too. Because 00:43:35.920 --> 00:43:40.080 sometimes we are able to forgive as Christians, but we can't erase the memory. Because your 00:43:40.080 --> 00:43:47.080 ways and your values will be frowned on or challenged. You know, Caleb is here. He's 00:43:55.680 --> 00:44:02.680 not here. Caleb was young and I was in the Britain. He's there. Oh my God. Okay, too 00:44:03.040 --> 00:44:08.480 bad, Caleb. Caleb was young and I was in his house in the UK and I said something to 00:44:08.480 --> 00:44:13.640 him and I said something in him and I thought he listened, but as I walked away, I saw him 00:44:13.640 --> 00:44:20.640 and he stuck out his tongue at me. And something rose in me like, how dare he, the little punk? 00:44:21.640 --> 00:44:28.640 Who does he think he is? I'm his uncle. Why did he stick out his tongue at me? And all 00:44:28.640 --> 00:44:33.080 those thoughts started coming up. It is so easy as you get older when you're not given 00:44:33.080 --> 00:44:40.080 the honor or the respect that you're supposed to get. It really bothers you. One of the 00:44:40.440 --> 00:44:47.440 things you must learn as you get older is can you forgive offense at lightning speed? 00:44:51.640 --> 00:44:58.640 Because if you don't, you will not erase the memory. If I don't erase the memory, the 00:44:58.640 --> 00:45:03.000 next time I speak to Caleb, you know what I'll be doing? After I speak to him, I'll 00:45:03.000 --> 00:45:09.560 be following him like Nick and Vibi did to see whether he'll be sticking out his tongue. 00:45:09.560 --> 00:45:13.880 Because now it's stuck in my memory that this is what he did. He cannot be trusted. And 00:45:13.880 --> 00:45:20.880 then all my interactions with him will be based on that one incident. Any questions? 00:45:26.560 --> 00:45:29.560 What are we talking about? Why are we talking about this? Because the ones that are 30 plus 00:45:29.560 --> 00:45:36.560 must not be like this. That's why you need to build a church that is strong. Another 00:45:36.760 --> 00:45:43.760 one. I'll give you three more and then we'll stop. As you age, learn... This is an important 00:45:52.560 --> 00:45:59.560 word here. As you age, learn to be foolish and undignified. Learn to be foolish and undignified. 00:45:59.560 --> 00:46:06.560 As you age, learn to be foolish and undignified. And if you're young and you still don't know 00:46:15.800 --> 00:46:22.800 how to be undignified, learn it because you'll age fast. As you age, learn to be foolish 00:46:23.600 --> 00:46:29.800 and undignified. There's a connection between being undignified and foolish and therefore 00:46:29.800 --> 00:46:36.800 having God do what he wants. As we age, we get less more and more. Proper. Behavior 00:46:37.280 --> 00:46:44.280 age does not apply in Christianity. Any questions? No? Hey Judah, we've got to talk about your 00:46:44.280 --> 00:46:51.280 baptism. As you age, may your wisdom... This happens in churches very often. That's why 00:46:51.280 --> 00:46:58.280 I'm bringing it up. Like I said, these are intentional teachings. As you age, may your 00:47:14.120 --> 00:47:21.120 wisdom not make you absolute. As you age, may your wisdom not make you absolute. As 00:47:21.320 --> 00:47:28.320 you age, may your wisdom not make you absolute. As you age, may your wisdom not make you absolute. 00:47:31.680 --> 00:47:38.680 Or Ahitofel. The second name we hardly come across, but he was one of Absalom's counselors. 00:47:39.420 --> 00:47:46.420 As you age, may your wisdom not make you Absalom or Ahitofel. Go to 2 Samuel 15. 2 Samuel 15. 00:47:51.280 --> 00:47:55.120 wisdom instead of bringing people together we are able to bring people 00:47:55.120 --> 00:48:00.160 separate because we have the wisdom for it we have the maturity for it we have 00:48:00.160 --> 00:48:04.560 the experience for it we have the weight of what we've done about it we have 00:48:04.560 --> 00:48:10.520 exploits of the Holy Spirit and then this happens second Samuel 15 to an 00:48:10.520 --> 00:48:15.680 Absalom used to rise early and stand beside the way of the gate and when any 00:48:15.680 --> 00:48:19.720 man had a dispute to come before the king for judgment Absalom would call him 00:48:19.720 --> 00:48:23.800 and say from what city are you and when he said your servant is of such and such 00:48:23.800 --> 00:48:27.680 a tribe in Israel Absalom would say to him see your claims are good and right 00:48:27.680 --> 00:48:32.960 but there is no man designated by the king to hear you too bad then Absalom 00:48:32.960 --> 00:48:37.040 would say oh that I was a judge in the land then every man with a dispute or 00:48:37.040 --> 00:48:41.200 cause might come to me and I would give him justice and whenever a man came near 00:48:41.200 --> 00:48:45.660 to pay homage to him he would put out his hand and take hold of him and kiss 00:48:45.860 --> 00:48:50.900 him Absalom did all did to all of Israel who came to the king for judgment he did 00:48:50.900 --> 00:48:54.860 this so Absalom stole the hearts of men of Israel at the end of four years 00:48:54.860 --> 00:49:00.540 Absalom said to the king and then the conspiracy continues may you who are 00:49:00.540 --> 00:49:06.500 older and who are wiser this applies to leaders it applies to anyone who is over 00:49:06.500 --> 00:49:13.260 30 and wiser know may you not do this because that's not how you build a 00:49:13.260 --> 00:49:18.980 fortress church that's how you hollow out a fortress church and the other 00:49:18.980 --> 00:49:23.820 thing is I hit Ophelia was a very wise man he used to be David's counselor he 00:49:23.820 --> 00:49:31.460 goes and joins Absalom if your wisdom is contrary to what is being taught either 00:49:31.460 --> 00:49:37.420 come and deal with it with a person who taught it and show the person the error 00:49:37.460 --> 00:49:45.020 of his ways but if you cannot do that do not be an Absalom I'm so committed to 00:49:45.020 --> 00:49:49.540 building this church as a fortress because of what awaits it that the only 00:49:49.540 --> 00:49:58.420 way to sometimes deal with Absalom is to confront Absalom any questions any push 00:49:58.420 --> 00:50:00.660 back 00:50:07.460 --> 00:50:17.900 I hit Ophelia's in second Samuel 17 verse 14 00:50:21.420 --> 00:50:36.180 as you aid live your life more publicly as you aid live your life more publicly 00:50:37.640 --> 00:50:39.740 I hit Ophelia's 00:50:51.260 --> 00:50:56.600 one more we can stop are there some really good points then we need one and 00:50:56.600 --> 00:51:01.940 then I'll explain one this is so critical guys expect this if you're 30 00:51:01.940 --> 00:51:28.580 the rush of the Spirit to suddenly cause you to do mighty exploits. And when this happens, 00:51:28.580 --> 00:51:36.940 do it immediately. One of the things God does with people as they get older is suddenly 00:51:36.940 --> 00:51:42.780 the Spirit of God will come upon the person. And you can take a jawbone of an ass and weaponize 00:51:42.780 --> 00:51:48.820 it and kill 300 Philistines. You can give birth to things when you're important. It'll 00:51:48.820 --> 00:51:53.700 be the sudden movement of the Holy Spirit. When that begins to happen to you, when that 00:51:54.340 --> 00:52:00.860 to anyone here who's over 40, oh my God, do not wait. Immediately do it. It's the rush 00:52:00.860 --> 00:52:07.140 of the Spirit. It's this special sending of the Holy Spirit upon you for a particular 00:52:07.140 --> 00:52:19.140 reason. Do it immediately. Because when we don't, it just drags on, man. We miss opportunities. 00:52:19.140 --> 00:52:23.620 You know, every revival that has happened in the world was started by people over 40 00:52:23.620 --> 00:52:29.380 amongst the people who were 20s. Hebrides 2.0, classic example. Two women, Peggy and 00:52:29.380 --> 00:52:34.220 Sue, what were they doing? Praying. How old were they? 80 plus. Who was the guy who came 00:52:34.220 --> 00:52:40.020 to preach? Duncan Campbell. How old was he? 65 plus. He comes to an island and these two 00:52:40.020 --> 00:52:43.320 women look at him and say, we don't know if you're really the kind. You don't look like 00:52:43.320 --> 00:52:46.540 you really think this is going to happen. Oh God, if this is not the man, they have 00:52:46.540 --> 00:52:49.660 the guts to pray while he's standing there. Oh God, if this is not the man, send us the 00:52:49.660 --> 00:52:54.100 right man because he doesn't look the type. He was so embarrassed that he decided he better 00:52:54.100 --> 00:53:00.100 go and be the type. So he goes and here's the thing. He's at a conference preaching 00:53:00.100 --> 00:53:05.620 when the Spirit of God says, go to Bannerus. And so he gets up halfway through the conference, 00:53:05.620 --> 00:53:09.800 doesn't finish his assignment and goes to this island. And then these women call him 00:53:09.800 --> 00:53:15.180 out like this. And so he goes and he begins to preach. And as he's preaching, nothing 00:53:15.180 --> 00:53:20.580 is happening. And he's thinking to himself, boy, this is really going sour. And then one 00:53:20.580 --> 00:53:25.460 young man stands up and he begins to pray. And the Spirit of God descends upon that village 00:53:25.460 --> 00:53:31.620 and Hebrides 1.0 starts. Every revival on the face of the earth was started by people 00:53:31.620 --> 00:53:36.700 over 40 and 50. When your church gets younger, never lament the fact that, oh, we are not 00:53:36.700 --> 00:53:42.900 wanted anymore. That's just, I wish certain words were actually kosher. I would use them, 00:53:42.900 --> 00:53:49.340 but I can't. To think like that, that as the church gets younger, we, the older ones, 00:53:49.340 --> 00:53:54.620 don't have a place. Man, they are getting here because of what you have already done. 00:53:54.620 --> 00:54:05.620 And you better not stop till you die. Once you begin to age, don't look for belonging. 00:54:05.620 --> 00:54:12.140 Oh, I don't feel like I belong. Forget that. We're not looking for belonging. As you age, 00:54:12.140 --> 00:54:16.900 the question is not whether you belong. It's whether you're a pillar that is willingly 00:54:16.900 --> 00:54:22.700 able to carry the weight of the house. Hear me again. Once you begin to age, as in once 00:54:22.700 --> 00:54:27.300 you cross the 30, 35, 40 mark, you're not looking to see whether I belong. You're looking 00:54:27.300 --> 00:54:34.060 to see, please make me a pillar in this church so that my frailty can carry the weight of 00:54:34.700 --> 00:54:41.700 this church. That's what you want. When acceptance is an issue with the older brother, it usually 00:54:55.980 --> 00:55:02.820 ends up in resentment. Hear me again. When acceptance is an issue with the older brother, 00:55:02.820 --> 00:55:09.820 it usually ends up in resentment. Repent of it. I have to close because I said I will. 00:55:32.820 --> 00:55:39.820 See you tomorrow. 7 p.m. If you need prayer, there will be people here to pray with you. 00:55:46.740 --> 00:55:53.740 You won't see the guys from Bahrain next week. So you can say bye to them. Otherwise, let 00:55:53.740 --> 00:56:00.740 me just pray. Father, as we listen to this teaching, one can feel like we're not in the 00:56:23.740 --> 00:56:30.740 right place. Some of the points can feel like you're being clubbed. But this is not a clubbing 00:56:42.020 --> 00:56:49.020 about this. This is just putting it straight out saying, if this is where you're at, change 00:56:50.020 --> 00:56:55.340 because what I'm about, I'm not talking about me, I'm talking about you. What I'm about 00:56:55.340 --> 00:57:01.860 is building a fortress church and I will not compromise on it. I would prefer talking about 00:57:01.860 --> 00:57:08.860 faith, Father, but you will get what you want. We will change to give you what you want. 00:57:19.780 --> 00:57:26.780 Spirit of God, you alone can take something that's sometimes hard-hitting, sometimes a 00:57:29.180 --> 00:57:36.180 sharp, harsh rebuke and turn it into something that may still hurt, but it feels like I need 00:57:38.940 --> 00:57:45.940 to change in this area. Only you can do it. I prayed, I asked you today before I taught 00:57:46.940 --> 00:57:53.940 this, oh God, help me to do it in a way that doesn't compromise it, but not using this 00:57:55.100 --> 00:58:02.100 as a bully pulpit to despise or dismiss. The only reason I'm praying it out loud is so 00:58:05.380 --> 00:58:10.300 that people know where it's coming from. But if there are ones that are bruised, I pray 00:58:10.380 --> 00:58:16.380 that you would help them with their bruise, but that you would not let them free. That 00:58:16.380 --> 00:58:23.380 you would work on their hearts and say, he's talking about you. While you take away the 00:58:25.780 --> 00:58:32.780 bruise of a, may your finger, Holy Spirit, bring correction. May it begin with me. That 00:58:32.780 --> 00:58:39.780 sounds like a really pious sentence. May it begin with me, oh Lord. But really, could 00:58:42.060 --> 00:58:49.060 you please hold the teacher responsible? And you said that teachers better be careful because 00:58:49.340 --> 00:58:53.540 what they teach, they'll be held responsible for. So hold me responsible, but do not take 00:58:53.540 --> 00:58:59.940 your finger off this church, Holy Spirit. Put the finger where the heart needs to feel 00:58:59.940 --> 00:59:06.940 the cold from heaven's hurt on the lips hurts. I pray that you would do that, Spirit of God. 00:59:10.980 --> 00:59:16.100 Starting with my lips, but any set of lips here that need to feel the burn of heaven, 00:59:16.100 --> 00:59:22.180 let it happen through these sets of teachings. That will only give us one choice. Turn and 00:59:22.180 --> 00:59:29.180 align with what you want to do or, I don't know what the or is, Father. I'll just leave 00:59:29.900 --> 00:59:36.900 it at the sign of hope. Turn and align. May that happen to my life and the lives of this 00:59:37.060 --> 00:59:44.060 church. That's what I ask for now. In Jesus' name, amen. Cool? Feel free to come up for 00:59:46.100 --> 00:59:50.860 prayer, guys. I know you've been coming for the last three days or three and a half days. 00:59:50.860 --> 00:59:53.100 Edwin, you can get up and leave because I might go on.